Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #924 Saturday 8* Houston Astros Money Line (-) vs New York Yankees @ 8:08 ET - First off it is important to note that I am making this money line bet with ACTION. That means no matter whom gets the start I have action on this bet and that is what I am recommending to all my customers as well. The fact is that this game is projected to be a bullpen game for both teams and, as of 10 AM ET, it has not been determined whom the starters will be. Of course, in a bullpen game, the starting pitchers carry very little importance anyway. I am coming right back with the Astros after they burned me last night. Yes Houston lost 4 to 1 but the Astros left NINE men on base while the Yankees left just ONE man on base all night! It was simply just "one of those nights" and I still feel strongly that the Astros are the better overall team with the more patient hitters at the plate and that they will win this series. That said, laying a very fair price to have the home team here is something I won't hesitate to do. Keep in mind, the Yankees were a solid 46-35 in road games in the regular season but the Astros were a phenomenal 60-21 in home games in the regular season. In particular I like having such a strong home team when off a loss and when they were the team whom had wasted opportunities. 8* HOUSTON

No Doubt Blowout Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #6 Saturday 8* Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Dallas Stars @ 7:05 ET - This one is in the upper limits of my typical price range as I shy away from going above -150 when laying a price in money line sports. In this case, I'll absolutely lay this price range as the situation is so strong. While the Flyers have been off since Wednesday, and that was a game they lost despite registering 52 shots on goal, the Stars will now be playing their 3rd game in 4 days as they played Wednesday and then also played last night at Pittsburgh. Tonight Dallas will become the first team to play a 10th game this NHL season and yet they have but 1 win on the season thus far which ties them for worst in the NHL. Now the Stars have to play a back to back and their playing a Flyers team that is officially 2-0 at home on the season (though one "home" game was in Czech Republic). The fact is that Philly will be extra hungry here after a disappointing road trip to western Canada. The Flyers have been waiting two days to get back on home ice and they're going to make the most of this opportunity. Phenom goalie Carter Hart was pulled in the game at Edmonton and he is a native of Alberta so was particularly disappointed in that performance and he can't wait to redeem himself here. The last time he was on home ice Hart delivered a shutout win. Also, he got the win and allowed just 1 goal in his lone career home start versus the Stars. When these teams most recently met (in Dallas), the Flyers lost 6-2 however and now it is payback time here in the absolute ideal situation favoring a home team in terms of tremendous scheduling edge. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #688 Saturday 10* Top Play Calgary Stampeders (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7 ET - I am well aware of the fact that Calgary has had trouble covering the spread this season but in this revenge game I foresee them getting a big home win. The odds makers opened this one up with a line of -7 with good reason. The fact is that the Stampeders are 6-2 at home this season and also 6-1 in divisional games. Note that Winnipeg is only 3-5 on the road this season. The Blue Bombers got a win last week but they previously had lost 4 of 5. Unlike slumping Winnipeg, Calgary actually entered last week's action having won 4 of 5 SU and they won again last week! The Stamps have dominated this series long-term and, having lost at Winnipeg at earlier this season (a rare loss for them against the Blue Bombers) I know they won't take their foot off the gas in this one. As a result, look for a home win by a double digit margin. 10* CALGARY

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #324 Saturday 8* Georgia State Panthers (+) vs Army Black Knights @ 7 ET - The Panthers coaching staff includes personnel very familiar with the option. That gives Georgia State an added edge here that most teams don't have when facing Army. Additionally, the Black Knights offense has actually struggled this season and ranks #117 in the nation based on total yardage. Conversely, the Panthers offense ranks 19th in the nation based on total yardage. I am aware of the fact that Army has the much better ranking defense in this match-up. But again, the fact that the Black Knights are now running into a team whose coaches have experience in how to defense the option attack which Army employs certainly gives a bit of an edge there. Additionally, the way the Georgia State offense has been playing, I don't see Army being able to shut them down. The Panthers also have the home field edge here and have scored 31 or more points in 5 of their 6 games this season! This is just the 3rd home game of the season for Georgia State and, in the first two, they scored an average of 50 points per game! Last week's loss at Western Kentucky was the 3rd time this season that Army has been held to 14 points or less. The Black Knights have now lost back to back games SU and are also on an 0-3 ATS run. On the other hand, Georgia State is off back to back wins and covers. Momentum clearly in favor of the Panthers in this one and I'll grab the home dog as they stay hot. 8* GEORGIA STATE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #343 Saturday 8* Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Iowa Hawkeyes @ Noon ET - Ideal set up for grabbing a huge underdog in what should actually be a very competitive game. Of course in comparing Iowa and Purdue, the Hawkeyes are the much better team and plus are at home for this one. However, the Boilermakers enter this game off a confidence-boosting 40-14 win over Maryland and they catch Iowa off very physical and emotionally draining losses at Michigan and versus Penn State the past two weeks. Of course the Hawkeyes want to get back into the win column and I certainly expect them to do that here. However, how much will they have left in the tank in terms of truly putting on a beatdown of a Big Ten rival that will certainly have no shortage of emotion for this game. This spread is around 18 and, keep in mind, the Hawkeyes have been held to scoring 18 points or less in 3 of their past 4 games. Also, Purdue is playing their 7th game of the season and they've only had 2 ugly losses this season. The Boilermakers other 2 losses were tight and, with last week's win over the Terrapins, they now have 2 SU wins this season as well. The visitor is actually 9-0 ATS in the last 9 meetings between these teams and the Boilermakers do have a history of playing well here. They made some changes to their O-line last week and their back-up QB had a huge game as a result. Iowa, of course, has a very tough defense, but this road dog has some confidence now and the Hawkeyes defensive energy is a little worn down after facing the Wolverines and Nittany Lions the past two weeks. 8* PURDUE

Total of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #359 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Utah Utes vs Arizona State Sun Devils @ 6 ET - The Utes were picked off 3 times in last year's match-up with the Sun Devils and this helped lead the way to Arizona State getting the win by 18 points. That said, not only is this a revenge game for Utah, they also are quite likely to keep their foot on the gas just like ASU did in last year's big win. That is why I love the over in this match-up even though a little bit of rain and 15 mph winds could be around Salt Lake City this afternoon. The fact is that Arizona State's defense is overvalued because they have played so many bad offenses. Now they face a tough Utes offense and, keep in mind, ASU did allow 34 points both times they were "challenged" this season as Colorado and Washington State each put that number on the Sun Devils defense. As for the Utah defense, it certainly is a good one but they did allow 30 points to USC and also have allowed 26 points or more in each of their last 3 meetings with the Sun Devils. In other words, Arizona State has a history of success when facing the Utes defense and, despite being a double digit dog in this one, ASU hangs around in this one for awhile which also helps it get over the low total. The Sun Devils are off a tight win versus Washington State last week and the over is 20-11 when Arizona State is off a win by a margin of 6 or less points. Utah's offense has plenty of confidence rolling into this one after hanging 52 on the scoreboard at Oregon State last week. Note that the Utes over is 20-11 when off a road win by a double digit margin. 10* OVER the total in Utah

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #390 Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (-) vs Baylor Bears @ 4 ET - The Bears are 6-0 on the season and, for the first time under head coach Rhule, are ranked in the top 25. That said, the odds makers must have made some kind of mistake here, right? After all, how can the unranked Cowboys be favored over a Baylor team that has won 8 straight games dating back to last season? Exactly! Don't be fooled. It is no mistake. The odds makers know what they are doing. The Bears are off a tough game where they had to rally to force OT and ended up winning in double-OT over Texas Tech. Keep in mind, this was a game in which Baylor was favored by double digits so, in other words, quite unimpressive. Speaking of unimpressive, look at the Bears schedule this season! That said, they now face their toughest test of the season and I like an Oklahoma State team playing at home and that comes in rested off a bye week last week! The situation is set up perfect for the Cowboys to roll at home and their potent offense won't take their foot off the gas either. That's because last year the Bears took it to Oklahoma State and won the game 35-31. Now it is time for payback! The Cowboys are 9-1 ATS in the last 10 home games against Baylor. Also, note that the host has won 8 of the last 9 meetings between these teams SU. While the Bears are off a dramatic win last week, the Cowboys suffered a loss by 10 to the Red Raiders two weeks ago at Texas Tech. That was prior to the OSU bye. That is noteworthy here as Oklahoma State is 7-0 ATS the last 7 times in their first game after playing Texas Tech. Also, when playing with extra rest following a SU loss by a double digit margin, the Cowboys are 9-1 ATS! 10* OKLAHOMA STATE